ARTICLES
Mental Health
Staff

Food As Medicine?

Naturopathic doctors, nutritionists, and other integrative practitioners like to emphasize the idea that food is medicine. But what does that really mean? Food can be a sensitive and intimate topic for many. The intention of this article is to approach the topic of food with care and empathy. Let’s start with some Oxford Dictionary definitions:  What is medicine?  “A compound or preparation used for the treatment or prevention of disease, especially a drug or drugs taken by mouth.” What is food?

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Uncategorized
Staff

Fish Oil for Depression and Anxiety: The Underdog Supplement

Many of us know that fish oil is beneficial in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, such as conditions of high lipids and high blood sugar. We’ve also heard that it is anti-inflammatory and, therefore, may be helpful in autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune thyroid disease. However, you may be surprised to hear that fish oil is one of my favorite nutritional and supplemental recommendations for my patients with depression and anxiety. I consider it

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Hormones
Staff

Natural Tips for PMS and Period Cramps

It’s a Wednesday morning during a normal work or school week. You roll out of bed more tired than normal, put the coffee pot on, and start getting ready. As you get dressed, you notice you have a slight headache, your pants feel tighter than yesterday, and your breasts are a little tender as you snap your bra on. As you rush to get out of the house, you knock your coffee cup on the counter, and it spills everywhere.

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Hormones
Dr. Russell

Are hysterectomies the only option for fibroids?

Bleeding heavily is a common concern for women of pre- and peri-menopause age. While there can be different reasons for heavy bleeding, a frequent cause are fibroids. Fibroids (leiomyoma) are benign tumors that grow in the smooth muscle of the uterus. It’s believed that by age 50, 70% of women have fibroids, though most will not know it. About 30% of women with fibroids are symptomatic. Unfortunately, that number disproportionately affects Black women and there is not a good explanation

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Mental Health
Dr. Russell

Natural Tools To Tame Anxiety

Second to fatigue, the most common concern that my patients have is anxiety. While it may seem like everyone has anxiety (and I would argue to some extent that is true and normal), about 1 in 5 Americans meet the criteria to be considered diagnosable with an anxiety disorder.  While anxiety can present in different forms (generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, OCD, etc), there is a lot of similarities around the root cause(s) of anxiety.  From an evolutionary standpoint, anxiety

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General
Dr. Russell

Spring Is Around The Corner: Natural Tips For Seasonal Allergies

While it’s not official yet, it feels like Spring is already upon us.  I’m thrilled that I’ll soon be able to open my windows, pack up my winter coat, and spend more time outside.   Spring is a time of renewal and starting fresh.  Just as the plants begin to poke up out of the ground and our landscape turns lush and green again, it is a time for us to start new projects or rekindle the motivation to improve our health, a motivation that may have

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Digestive Health
Dr. Russell

The ONE Simple Health Habit You Need For 2022

I’ve seen a lot of complex cases over the years. While it can be perplexing figuring out where to start, I am still astounded how sometimes the simple solutions can have a dramatic impact on health. One of these powerful and simple solutions is hydration. We all know that our bodies are part water. The amount varies depending on where in the body we’re looking at. Our bones are only 31% water, whereas the muscle and kidneys are more than

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Herbs For Improving Sleep

Sometimes life has other plans and a good night’s sleep is just not in the cards. Thankfully we have wonderful herbs that can help you fall asleep or stay asleep.

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